Pub crowdfunding success near St Albans

A determined group of residents are getting closer to their goal of saving the local village pub.

The volunteers have been inviting people to invest in shares to buy the Grade II listed The White Horse in Kimpton, which is officially listed as an Asset of Community Value which gives residents an opportunity to bid for it.

The pub closed last April 2015 and was put up for sale by brewery McMullens, much to the anger of local residents who wanted to see it retained as a pub.

More than £400,000 has been raised so far, with 150 people pledging their support throughout December.

Chairman of the White Horse management committee, Neil Burns, said: “There are still pledges dribbling in.

“We have made a formal application for a grant. That’s all happened over the Christmas period and we are assessing and seeing what the next step is.

“Our overall target is £580,000 and that is taking us within striking distance of the total sum. We want to get the message out there because there’s obviously still a large number of people who didn’t pick it up.

“We want to make sure as many people as possible realise what we are trying to do. If we can get a reasonable number of people to get involved in the scheme we may be able to reach that number.

“It’s a good step forward.”

The volunteers have been working with community ownership specialist The Plunkett Foundation to develop their business plan and gain pledges of support.

Their aim is to reach their £580,000 target in the current financial year.